And the probe doesnt involve some bit players in an obscure program, either. The 1603 Program was one of the centerpieces of Barack Obamas 2009 stimulus, designed to subsidize a transition from hydrocarbon-based energy to renewables in the residential market, and federal government sunk $13 billion into the effort. Now the Inspector General of Treasury has opened a probe of the three largest providers of solar panel installations, who gained the most from the 1603 Program, and who may have fraudulently calculated their bills in order to claim more taxpayer cash:

Three of the countrys most prolific installers of residential solar panels are under federal investigation to determine if they inflated the cost of their work to increase the payments they would receive from the government, according to government and industry officials familiar with the probe.

SolarCity, SunRun and Sungevity have received subpoenas from the Treasury Departments office of inspector general for financial records to justify more than $500 million in federal grants and tax credits the firms tapped for performing work. The probe seeks to determine whether the companies accurately reported the market value of their costs when applying for federal reimbursement, which was calculated at one-third of the costs.

The solar companies received money through the Treasurys $13 billion program, known as the 1603 program, which used funds from President Obamas stimulus initiative to offer cash grants to clean-energy developers. The goal was to spur the spread of wind farms, solar panels and other clean power sources nationwide.

SolarCity, SunRun and Sungevity have been by far the largest recipients among companies installing solar panels on homes. Working heavily in the sunny states of California and Arizona, the three firms collected hundreds of millions of dollars in federal cash grants to pick up a share of their costs on thousands of home installations during the past three years.

You know whos missing from this story? Sheriff Joe Biden. Recall that when critics of the $800 billion porkfest predicted widespread fraud, Obama put Biden in charge of making sure that the money didnt go to scams, which Biden admitted a few months later was an unachievable goal. Obama himself warned that his wrath would be mighty indeed if local-government recipients of Porkulus cash got sticky fingers.

SolarCity and SunRun have been generous political supporters of Obama. At SolarCity, for example, officials in the company and its two key venture capital firm backers, along with their relatives, donated an estimated $579,000 to Obama in 2008 and 2012, according to campaign reports.

Lucky for Obama that the announcement of the IG probe happened after the election, then. What a coincidence!

It’s long been a tactic to have an “investigation” as a tactic to insulate the officials involved from the press. Whenever they’re asked about it, they can’t comment because it’s “under investigation”.

7
posted on 12/14/2012 11:44:05 AM PST
by tacticalogic
("Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)

Many of these companies—a dozen or so—were near insolvent when they received grants or loans. That seems to be a common thread. It’s possible these corporations were vehicles for stealing and laundering millions in Stimulus/DOE money. What made the Stimulus appropriations ideal for theft was the sheer size of the bill. It was impossible to adequately monitor almost a $1 trillion mostly dispersed over a few months. And this when the thieves controlled the regulators.

8
posted on 12/14/2012 11:44:17 AM PST
by Brad from Tennessee
(A politician can't give you anything he hasn't first stolen from you.)

The Obama Administration is the most corrupt administration in the history of America. It is amazing to me that the Congressional leadership is not investigating this and holding hearings. The Republican leadership are too busy purging principled conservative members to undertake their constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities.

I’m with you - dems don’t ‘fight’ corruption - they use it to feather their nests - and reward friends. My guess? The Treasury IG will be looking for a job soon and the New York Times won’t care about this story.

Nearly all of the so-called Green Energy ventures are money launderies.

Everyone I've ever talked to about it overwhelmingly thought it was money laundering. ALL the companies went bust, the funds simply disappeared, and the tax payers were stuck paying the bill. It was clearly money laundering according to the people I've talked to. There was no question about it. Not one person disagreed, and not all of them voted Republican. At lest 4 of them were life long democrats (who chose not to vote at all this time, BTW).

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